LOST IN TRANSLATION

During a series of texts, the firm, based in the Tavistock area of the city, insisted Charlotte and Dean owed them money - as cancelling an appointment with less than 48 hours notice meant paying an £85 fee, as stated in a post pinned to the top of their Facebook page.

But the couple claimed they were not told of this policy, did not sign any paperwork, and had made and cancelled the appointment within 24 hours - therefore not allowing them to give 48 hours' notice.

When Charlotte, 22, refused to pay and called their behaviour "unprofessional", the company responded in a text message saying: "Professional enough that the rest of your family loved us :) the terms are there to try and prevent wasted appointments due to last minute cancellations...The invoice will be posted later followed by small claims court action :)"

Feeling harassed by their conduct, Charlotte responded: "We have not agreed nothing please stop harassing me. I have recently come out of hospital due to losing my baby I do not need this thank you." (sic)

Dean, 26, later added: "We never said we wasn't having it done though. Just not ready after what Charlotte has been through...we lost our child...we don't have to rearrange." (sic)

It is claimed Clean Carpets Plymouth then said every time Charlotte sent them a text message they would "add an admin charge of £25".

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The firm then claimed every time Charlotte responded to a text message she would owe an extra £25 'admin charge'Credit: Charlotte Coutts /Facebook

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Ben said not all the messages were made publicCredit: Charlotte Coutts /Facebook

By the end of the stream of around 30 angry messages, the company claimed the pair owed around £1,000 in "admin fees".

It also made claims its staff had been on the end of "threatening behaviour", allegedly involving members of the couple's family.

But Ben said only some of the messages have been made public and insisted they don't tell the full story.

At that point she told us she had just got out of hospital, but in this business you do become quite hardened to it.

Ben Harbour

He said: "We asked them politely 'Do you wish to rebook', but then it just spiralled massively and we still hadn't been told at that stage that she had had a miscarriage.

"There's about 12 messages before she tells us.

"In our opinion they had already wasted our time by making an appointment they couldn't keep, and contrary to popular belief, at times we are five or six days booked in advance, so appointments are quite important.

"At that point she told us she had just got out of hospital, but in this business you do become quite hardened to it."

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The row escalated with the firm claiming it was taking the couple to court for the unpaid billCredit: Charlotte Coutts /Facebook

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The couple contacted their local Citizens' Advice and police over the messagesCredit: Charlotte Coutts /Facebook

Vicki added: "Losing a baby is tragic, but had we been told from the beginning this was why they couldn't keep the appointment, it wouldn't have been a problem."

It was originally reported that police were investigating claims that the carpet cleaners told Charlotte and Dean: "You deserved to lose your baby".

Vicki said: "I understand it hasn't been handled very well but we didn't ever threaten them."

She continued: "It's horrible to stand there and have your 35-year-old husband beg you to leave him because he feels that he has let me down. That is how it has affected us – and it's affected our whole family.

"We don't deserve this. It feels like we've murdered somebody."

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